The agenda for the Oct. 4 Oakland City Council meeting includes discussion of the Juvenile Protection Curfew Ordinance recommended by the Rules Committee of council in September. 

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Text from the proposed ordinance is as follows:

The proposed ordinance enacts a Juvenile Protection Curfew Ordinance that would prohibit (with some exceptions) the presence of all youth under 18 years of age on city streets between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. (Sunday through Thursday) and 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. As a component of the Oakland Police Department's (OPD) strategic plan, the ordinance will be evaluated after one year to review its effectiveness. The purpose of this ordinance is to protect youth from becoming victims/perpetrators of crime, and to increase parental involvement and accountability. Another component of the ordinance is to repeal OMC sections 9.12.020 and 9.02.030 prohibiting minors from loitering in public places. The juvenile protection curfew ordinance would allow officers to lawfully:

1. Make contact with youth during certain hours of the night;
2. Conduct a records check for juvenile violations (e.g., truancy);
3. Contact the parent/guardian from the field and/or transport the youth home; and
4. Transport juveniles to a receiving center (when necessary) where they will be provided a counselor who will attempt to contact a responsible parent or guardian to pick up the minor.

Additionally, the counselor will work with the young person to determine why he/she was out during curfew hours and determine the circumstances at home that may have caused them to be out during curfew hours. Counseling services will also be provided to parents/guardians who arrive at the detention center. In the event that a responsible parent/guardian is unavailable to retrieve the child from the detention center (depending on the circumstances), the child may be transported to their residence by OPD. In severe cases, Alameda County Social Services will be called.

Parents/guardians of youth who violate the curfew ordinance more than two (2) times or who fail to pick up their children twice within a period of six (6) months, or whose minor is also habitually truant from school may be charged for a misdemeanor or an infraction violation (at the prosecutor's discretion) of the curfew ordinance. The city of Oakland's Special Prosecution Team will prosecute these cases as they are identified by OPD and the counselors.

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